Midland unemployment holds steady at 2.2 percent

Labor force remains above 100,000

Unemployment in the commission’s Midland metropolitan statistical area stayed at 2.2 percent for a third consecutive month as the Tall City continued to report the state’s lowest unemployment. Odessa tied with Amarillo for second lowest at 2.7 percent.

Unemployment in the commission’s Midland metropolitan statistical area stayed at 2.2 percent for a third consecutive month as the Tall City continued to report the state’s lowest unemployment. Odessa tied

Unemployment in the commission’s Midland metropolitan statistical area stayed at 2.2 percent for a third consecutive month as the Tall City continued to report the state’s lowest unemployment. Odessa tied with Amarillo for second lowest at 2.7 percent.

Unemployment in the commission’s Midland metropolitan statistical area stayed at 2.2 percent for a third consecutive month as the Tall City continued to report the state’s lowest unemployment. Odessa tied

September brought continued lows in both Midland and Texas unemployment, according to figures released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission.

Unemployment in the commission’s Midland metropolitan statistical area stayed at 2.2 percent for a third consecutive month as the Tall City continued to report the state’s lowest unemployment. Odessa tied with Amarillo for second lowest at 2.7 percent.

For a second consecutive month, Midland’s civilian labor force remained in excess of 100,000, rising almost 300 to 100,730 in September. A year ago, the labor force was 94,345.

Steve Beach, the dean of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin’s College of Business, said Midland’s low unemployment and high labor force provide opportunities for those not in the workforce to learn high-demand skills; for others there is the opportunity to break the cycle of long-term unemployment or discouraged unemployment. Rising wages in high-demand industries such as the energy industry are pushing workers up into the middle class.

“The flip side is, you have stresses,” Beach said. “Companies throughout the Permian Basin are finding it hard to fill jobs, to find hires with the skills they need to fill those positions at the level they need.”

At some point, wages may rise to a level where companies have to decide if it’s worth it, he said.

“Then there will be the tough decisions: Would the company be better off not growing further, and instead optimizing and increasing returns on investment instead of increasing revenues?”

Those companies that make the better decisions, energy companies in particular, will be better- positioned in the future, he said.

“What I’m beginning to worry about is how much more can these communities grow? It seems like we’re just packed in,” said Willie Taylor, chief executive officer of the commission’s Workforce Solutions Permian Basin.

He said the workforce is strong in Midland right now, and he receives calls constantly from people wanting to move here because of the opportunities offered by such a strong labor market.

“I’m up front with them,” Taylor said. “I tell them, ‘I know you want to come here. I know you have the right skills. But do your homework,’” especially with respect to the housing shortage and housing costs.

He also said the shortage of skilled workers continues to push up wages.

Another concern Taylor has is the teacher shortage. Educators are needed to help the area grow its own workforce, he said.

“I’m always looking at strategies to bring in educators.”

Beach agreed that the stresses of the booming economy have been tough on local schools.

“That’s one place you see the stress. Elementary and secondary school teachers are not paid enough for the quality of what they deliver,” he said. “(But) paying more wouldn’t solve the problem. You know rents would go up, too.”

There is lots of traffic and lots of hustle and bustle and people working hard in this area’s booming economy, said Beach, who joined UTPB this summer.

“At times, you like to sit back and enjoy life a little better,” he said. That would be important for Midland and Odessa, who want to “make a community of warm folks and to manage their businesses better so people get better returns, economically and socially.”

Mining, logging and construction remains Midland’s dominant industrial sector, comprising 34 percent of Midland’s industrial composition. While the sector actually shed 300 jobs from August to September, it has added 6,600 jobs since September 2017 for a growth rate of 22.8 percent.

The government sector added 400 jobs during the month, followed by trade, transportation and utilities with 300 jobs and the professional and business services sector with 100 jobs. In addition to jobs lost in the mining, logging and construction sector, the leisure and hospitality sector dropped 200 jobs, and the other services sector lost 100 jobs.

Total nonfarm jobs grew by 200 during the month, to 104,300.

For the 12 months between September 2017 and September 2018, the job count rose by 8,600 for a growth rate of 9 percent.

Second to mining, logging and construction in adding jobs was the trade, transportation and utilities sector with 900 jobs and leisure and hospitality with 600 new jobs. The professional and business services sector added 200 jobs, and the manufacturing sector, education and health services sector and other services sector each added 100 jobs.

“We’re not only promoting Midland and Odessa but the surrounding counties to grow,” said Taylor. “There’s a lot of pressure on our communities right now.”

For all the stresses and pressure, Beach sees community leaders working to help address the issues.

“Some communities would be thrilled to consider this as an issue they’d have to deal with,” he said. “It’s not easy. There’s no playbook for how to handle this growth. I’m seeing people working diligently to address the problems. We have a lot of good leaders committed to addressing these stresses. That includes leaders of industry who realize they have to work together. This is a competitive industry that drives our economy, but it’s great to see leaders talking to each other about how they can come together collectively to address the issues.”

Statewide, Texas fell to the lowest unemployment rate recorded in 40 years -- 3.8 percent unemployment rate from 3.9 percent in August. The state added 15,600 jobs in September for a 3.5 percent growth rate, the 27th consecutive month of annual growth. Over the year, the state has added 402,500 jobs.